Tag: noise

Today is a work day for me. I’m painting the ceiling in my bathroom that has gotten a bit gray from mildew. It’s not awful, but it’s not pretty. So, I’m scraping off the crusty stuff and putting a couple coats of mildew-killing paint on it.

So far, so good. I got a later start than I originally intended, but I’m making progress. There’s something about Sunday that puts me in a state of revolt, if I’m expected to do work of some kind.

Then again, it also pushes me to get the job done quickly. And take frequent breaks. The fumes from the paint are a problem for me today. They haven’t always been, but I’m tired. I think my resistance is down.

So, I’m taking a break for a little while. Maybe I’ll go for a walk in the woods, while I can.

By the time I get back, the first coat will be dry, and I’ll be able to finish the rest.

I just wish it weren’t getting dark at 4:00. I’m not ready for this. Complain, complain, complain. The fatigue talking again.

It’s not too bad, though, all in all. I’m flying solo today, as my spouse is on a business trip. That frees me up to rattle around and make all the noise I like. It also makes things otherwise very, very quiet. Both things are fine.

I do miss them, but it’s nice to have a day to myself, now and then, to get things done and not worry about the racket. When I am tired and my balance is off (which has been the case for several days, now), it’s hard for me to concentrate on what I should be doing AND keeping upright AND keeping the noise to a human level.

When I’m in fine form, like today, I can end up crashing and smashing a whole lot of stuff. It’s startling, to say the least. I don’t envy anyone who has to deal with that 😉

Anyway, while it’s still light, I’ll go for a walk. It will air me out and clear my head. I won’t be able to use the shower for about 24 hours, so that means I’ll shower at the gym at work tomorrow morning. Ah well… it keeps things interesting.

Have you ever noticed how tiresome it can be to follow a conversation at a noisy party? Rest assured: this is not necessarily due to bad hearing – although that might make things worse. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig have found that adverse listening situations are difficult for the brain, partly because they draw on the same, limited resources supporting our short-term memory. The new findings are particularly relevant to understanding the cognitive consequences of hearing damage, a condition that affects an increasing number of people.

Whether we are engaged in small talk or trying to memorise a telephone number – it is our short-term memory that ensures we don’t lose track. But what if the very same memory gets additionally taxed because the words to be remembered are hard to understand? This is suggested by a new study conducted by Jonas Obleser and his team at the Max Planck Research Group “Auditory Cognition”